Conventional electroluminescent layer arrangements consist of either inorganic or organic substances, which can be excited by means of an electrical voltage to emit light. The light-emitting substances are arranged between flat electrodes, a first electrode being configured as a hole-injecting electrode and a second electrode as an electron-injecting electrode. If the light-emitting substance is composed of an organic material, excitation can be accomplished by means of a DC voltage source. In this conventional arrangement the hole-injecting electrode is connected to the positive terminal of the DC voltage source, and the electron-injecting electrode to the negative terminal of the DC voltage source. A conventional electroluminescent layer arrangement of this type is described in European Patent Application No. EP 0 281 381, in which the hole-injecting electrode consists of a metal or an electrically conductive optically transparent oxide compound with a high electron emission energy (greater than 4.5 eV). The electron-injecting electrode consists of a metal other than an alkali metal, and possesses a low electron emission energy. A disadvantage of this conventional arrangement is that there is a very limited number of possible combinations due to the requirement that the selection of the electrode materials must be mutually matched, i.e. one hole-injecting electrode and one electron-injecting electrode.